So my flight gets in at around 1pm, the next train is 3pm. Im confident we can make it. Question is if I buy the 3pm ticket a head of time and miss it, can I exchange that ticket for the 5pm train or?
I also have a car rental in Avignon TGV, problem is if I miss the early train the rental place closes at 10pm, and train comes in at 930pm..Thoughts?
When you buy the ticket read the restrictions. Usually the more expensive tickets are exchangeable if you miss the train.
When you go to buy your ticket the option labeled Flexible allows you to exchange it up to two hours after if you miss the train.
Why not change the rental to the next day instead of creating drama by trying to do too much?
If you are confident you can make the train, then go for it. Personally, that is too tight of a turn for me, so I would spend the first night in Paris, departing early the next morning for Avignon. My understanding is that if you miss the train, you aren't likely to meet a ticket agent who will get you on the next later train for no cost.
I have had apartment rental agents stay late, but have never tried to sweet talk a car rental agent into waiting up for me. Good luck.
Best case scenario, your flight is early, passport control is quick, and you make it to the early train with 20 minutes to spare, so you arrive plenty early enough at Avignon TGV to pick up your rental car.
Worst case scenario (well, not really worst case, but unpleasant), your flight is delayed for 1:15 hrs and passport control is teeming with travelers while half the staff take off for lunch. You miss the TGV, have to repurchase tickets, arrive in Avignon TGV after the car rental agency closes, and you get to look for a hotel in Avignon at 10:30 at night.
It depends on the type of ticket that you buy. If you buy a non-exchangeable, then the answer is no. If you buy an exchangeable ticket, it can be exchanged and refunded subject to a fee that varies depending on when the change occurs plus paying any difference in price between the old and the new ticket will be added to this fee. Tickets will not be exchangeable or refundable after departure. If you go for a flexible ticket, tickets are refundable up to 2 hours after your train has departed. Sometimes the price of the non-refundable tickets is so low that it makes more sense to buy 2 non-refundable tickets and just discard the one that you do not use rather than buy a flexible ticket. If you have checked luggage, I am not as confident as you are that you will make your train in two hours, but I wish you all the best. As to the car, spend the night at CDG and get the car the next morning, or call the location and discuss this with them to confirm that they will not close early, or rent from Avis using the SNCF car rental program so you do not have to worry about when the location closes.
IM going to get an flexible ticket. I realized im connecting from Germany so I will avoid Passport control in CDG, and no checked bags so I am confident.
No checked bags and no passport control, I'd be pretty confident too. I am surprised at the length of the train trip. I have taken the train to Avignon and it is a 3 hour trip.
Are you sure about the times of your train?
I don't have a date from your question, but looking at a random date - 2 months from today (these times are good into July)- it doesn't add up.
Did you confuse your 24 hour clock?
The train which arrives at Avignon TGV at 9:30pm (2130) is train 5134/5135 which arrives at 21:27. (9:27pm). But it doesn't leave CDG until 17:57 (5:57pm), calling at Marne la Vallée-Chessy at 18:10, Lyon Part Dieu at 20:10 and Valence TGV at 20:54.
The train which leaves CDG at just before 3pm is 9830/9831 which leaves at 14:57 (2:57pm) calling at Marne la Vallée-Chessy at 15:10 and Lyon Part Dieu at 17:04 where it ends. You have an hour and 2 minutes to have a bite of dinner in the station and then board train 6007 which departs at 18:06 and the next stop is Avignon TGV at 19:08 (7:08pm).
So either you have absolutely tons of time at CDG and your times at the end are right, or you have that connection at CDG and get to Avignon TGV with tons of time before the car place closes. When you say the car place closes at 10pm you mean 22:00, right?
Nigel,
You are right..sorry I was estimating.
I went through the SCNF site and found an option to buy a flexible ticket. So if I miss the 2:57 train I can catch the next one.
Hope your flight arrives on time! You're more confident in the airlines' on-time record than I am.
It's not just airline arrival. It's also counting of efficient operation of the airport shuttles, and smooth security procedures at the rail station. It's only a single data point, but there was an abandoned piece of baggage the day we arrived, and we were kept out of the CDG TGV station for 45 minutes or so ...
I would worry about closure of the rental agency. I can imagine that they start packing up before 10PM, just like a museum. This is a European country, where family time counts for a lot. Even the big rental company agencies close promptly for their two hour lunches! Have you scoped out the walk from the Avignon station? Did you make your pickup efficient by pre-choosing options and insurances?
Yeah its a 2 minute walk from the train station to the rental car place. I did this same exact trip 2 years ago..except our plan landed at 830am...on time..so i had to wait fro the 3pm train instead of taking the 11am which wouldve been better lol
If you do need to use your flexible ticket for a later train, I think you will need a new seat reservation so you should deal with an agent at the TGV station.
I think you are right. SCNF has an app and it seems to allow you to redo stuff from that app.
Report update.
It all worked out!
